Anthocyanin Borscht

This soup is FULL of learnings.

First off- the name. Have you ever heard of Anthocyanins? I hadn’t until farmer Siri of Local Roots Farm posted an array of purple veggies and expressed her anthocyanin love. Immediately I thought, what are anthocyanins?

Dr. Mark Hyman explains in Food: What the Heck Should I Eat, that Anthocynanins are the phytonutrient found in blue-purple vegetables that can, “prevent blood clots, delay cell aging, and may slow Alzheimers onset” (p. 118). This soup includes THREE anthocyanin foods: purple potatoes, red beets, and red cabbage (and a host of other yummy ingredients).

Beyond the anthocyanins, I find this recipe so nourishing because I can think about my heritage as I cook and eat it. My grandmother has cooked borscht according to a family recipe since marrying my grandfather, who grew up in a Russian Doukhobor community in Canada. The Doukhobors know that vegetables hold special powers for healing (or at least our relatives knew this!). In fact, most of my great-grandparents and other Doukhobor relatives lived to be over 100! Now that’s some testimony for the power of eating nutritious vegetables and living in community. But back to the borscht, my grandmother shared her recipe with me, from which I substituted some of the ingredients (like purple potatoes for white, a whole yellow onion for green onions, and eliminating the cream). I hope I’ve done her (and my papa) proud with this one!

I also want to mention Rebecca Katz’ book Clean Soups as a source of inspiration for this recipe. She has a lovely blended borscht in that book which guided me on spices (like cumin, coriander, and chili flakes) and to include fennel. If you love soups and are looking for a good cookbook that lends itself to both weeknight and weekend cooking, I highly recommend this book.

So here she is folks! It took a village of knowledge (and about an hour and a half in the kitchen), but this version of Borscht makes about 10 servings (that’s right!). It’s great to make on a weekend and freeze half while reheating the rest for a quick lunch or dinner throughout the week. And did I mention all the Anthocyanins?!

·         Purple potatoes

·         Beets

·         Red Cabbage

·         Celery

·         Carrots

·         Yellow Onion

·         Fennel

·         Chicken Stock

·         Butter

·         Salt

·         Pepper

·         Cumin

·         Coriander

·         Red Chili Flakes

·         Fresh Dill

·         Optional: Sour cream

1.      Wash and peel 7-9 small to medium purple potatoes. Dice into cubes and add to a large soup pot. Wash and peel 2 large red beets, dice, and add to the pot with the potatoes.

2.      Thinly slice your red cabbage (Approximately half of a very large head, or an entire small head). Add to a large bowl. Dice 3 stalks of celery, one medium yellow onion and add to the bowl. Using a mandolin, slice your fennel bulb and a large carrot (or 2-3 smaller carrots) into thin rounds (shredded carrots also work). Add to bowl.

3.      Add 8 cups of chicken stock to the soup pot with the beets and potatoes and bring to a boil (note: the first time I made this, I only had 4 cups of chicken stock, so I supplemented with water. If you’re in a pinch, water will do just fine!). Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium heat and slow boil for 10 minutes.

4.      Turn a large saucepan on medium heat and melt two tablespoons of butter. Add the veggies and toss them to coat. After 5 minutes, add your spices: 1.5 teaspoon cumin, 1.5 teaspoon coriander, and several good shakes of red chili flakes, salt and pepper. I recommend tasting and adding salt as you go as until you reach a satisfactory level.

5.      Once the potatoes and beets have boiled for 10-12 minutes, reduce the heat to medium/low and add your sautéed vegetables. Simmer for 25 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper to your desire.

6.      Optional: finish with a dollop of sour cream and a few fronds of fresh dill. I find fresh dill to be pungent, so I recommend starting with just a few fronds and adding more if you wish. Enjoy, and be careful not to burn your tongue!